Mobile payments to top $1 billion in the US this year

Mobile payments in the US are forecasted to surpass $1 billion by the end of the year according to market research firm eMarketer. Spending will more than double compared to last year’s $539 million despite the fact that mobile wallets still haven’t really caught on with most consumers in the US.

Looking to the future, eMarketer estimates mobile payments will skyrocket to $2.6 billion next year en route to a staggering $58.4 billion by 2017. Such transactions were initially estimated to hit $20 billion by 2015 but the technology’s slow start means that mark probably won’t be realized until a year later.

A number of retailers, wireless providers, handset makers and even banks have all been trying to generate more interest in mobile payments but thus far, it really hasn’t been working all that well.

There are a handful of reasons as to why the technology hasn’t taken off like most experts believed it would. Manufacturers have been met with production delays, for starters, and the fact that there are several competing platforms all trying to take root translates into low adoption rates among consumers.

eMarketer classifies mobile payments as the purchase of goods and services by tapping, scanning, swiping or checking in with a mobile handset during the point of sale. The researcher points out that most mobile purchases made this year will be low-cost items but of course users can also use the technology to make big-ticket buys.